Watze spoelstba



W. SPOELSTRA.

APPARATUS FOR DRYING VEGETABLES AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 1. WI!)- Patented Dec. 9, 1919.

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Unrrnn snares Parana canton.

WATZE sronnsazaa, or LEEUWARDEN, NETHERLANDS.

nrrnnarus FOR DRYING veenrennes AND LIKE.

Specification of Iletters Patent. 7

Patented Dec. 9, 1919.

Application filed (ictober 1, 191a Serial No. 327,749.

these apparatus are not fit for continuous working, and in nearly all the drying air 'must pass along all drying shelves. The air, which passes through the upper layer of the material to be dried is for the greater part saturated with moisture, and has therefore lost a part of its drying capacity. Further in the known apparatus there are places for instance corners and the like places through which little or no air passes. so that the capacity of the apparatus is diminished, and makes it necessary to keep turning the material over.

This-invention relates to a drying ap'-' paratus which has not these disadvantages and which is suited for continuous working. According to the invention horizontal drying shelves are arranged in the outer section or member of a two-part receptacle or tank, and said shelves are composed of plates in the form of sectors which at a certain point in their path of movement through the tank are turned one after theother about their axes and against the tension'of a spring for instance by striking against arms arranged rigidly around the tank, in such a manner that the point at which the sectors of any one drying shelf are turned, lies'a certain angle behind the point at which the sectors of the next higher drying shelf are turned, while the inner tank section or member is closed at the top and is connected at its bottom with the tube for supplying th hot drying air and between the different drying shelves openings are arranged the area of which may be regulated. 1

Further the construction according to the invention is such that the delivery and the discharge of the material are controlled by means of shutters of cruciform section which are rotated by; means of gearing driven by the rotating'tank, 3

In the accompanying drawings an example oiconstruction ofthe invention is illus- 'trated.

Figure 1 is a vertical section through the apparatus according to the'line' AB of Fig. 2,

Fig. 2 is a tal section,

- Fig. 3 shows a sector on a larger scale and Fig. 4 isa side view of the sector.

In the space between the two concentric-a1 plan view partly in a horizoncylindrical members or sections 1 and of a two-part receptacle or tank 2 a number.(in

the present case five) of drying shelves 3, 1,

5, .6 and? are arranged one above the other. Each shelf is composed of plates 8 in the form of sectors whichare rotatableabout trunnions 9 and 10, the outer trunnions 9 projecting through the outer tank wall and being provides with spiral springs .11, each spring being connected at one end to the wall of the tank, and at the other end to the arm 12'attached to the end of the trunnion, Uri- .der each trunnion 9 a pin 13 is connected to the'tank in such a position that when the arm 12 is pressed against the pin 13' under the influence of the spring 11, the sector stands horizontal. The outer section'is provided with wheels 14 running on a circular rail 15, and is turned by means of a. gearwheel 16 arrangedaround the tank and meshing with a toothed wheel which latter is not shown in the drawing. Y o

The outer tank section 1 iscovered by a cover 17 with a chimney 18'and is further provided with an inlet 19 for the material to be dried, andwhich may be conveyed to the inlet by means of a conveyer 20, which drops it on the shutter 21. Said shutter is built in the form of a cross in section and is rotated by means of gearwheels driven by the rotating tank. The shutter prevents escape of air through" the inlet opening. The outlet 22 is arranged directly-below the inlet, andinsaid outlet a similar shutter by the tank is arranged. The'material falls through the outlet on the inclined wall and into a gutter 24 out of which it maybe conveyed away by means of a screw conveyer 23 in theform of a cross and also driven or the like. Between the two tanks 1 and is at the under side connected to a tube 26 for the drying air. Said inner tank is further provided with openings 27 of any desired size which form passages to the spaces between the drying shelves.

At diiferent points around the outer tank vertical bars 28, 29, 30, 31 and 32 are arranged (Fig. 2) each of which is provided with a rigid arm 33 pointing toward the tank and carrying a roller 34; at its end. The height of these bars is diiferent, the height of bar 28 being such that its arm 33 lies in the path of the arms 12 belonging to the sectors composing the uppermost drying shelf 3.

The arm 33 of the bar 29 which is at a certain distance behind the bar 28 lies in the path of the arms of the sectors of the second drying shelf and so on, while the last bar 32 belonging to the lowermost dryingshelf stands opposite the outlet opening. The apparatus works as follows:

The material to be dried is conveyed to the inlet opening by means of the conveyer .20, falls on the rotating shutter 21, and is distributed over the different sectors 8 of the first drying shelf 3 by means of said shutter.

The sectors convey the material in a circular path through the outer tank until they are one after the other turned into a vertical position by the arm 12 striking against the roller 34 of the arm 33 belonging to the bar 28; hereby the spring 11 is brought under tension. The material falls on the second drying shelf 4, and as soon as the sector has reached the position shown in Fig. 3, whereby the arm 12 leaves the roller 32, it is brought back in its original horizontal position by means of the spring 11, and abuts against the pin 13.

The sectors of the second drying shelf 4c carry the material along until they strike with their arms 12 against the roller 34; of the bar 29, in consequence of which the material falls on the third drying shelf and so on until the dried material is upset into the outlet opening by the sectors of the lowermost drying shelf by means of the bar 32.

The hot drying air entering through the tube 26 passes through the openings 27 into the space between the drying shelves and is therefore separately conveyed to each layer of material. It'will be seen that the drying air. conveyed to the uppermost drying shelf has not passed any material before reaching said uppermost shelf, and has therefore its full drying capacity.

The apparatus according to the invention has a high capacity and is adapted for continual working. The turning or spreading out of the material is avoided by the apparatus. Having now ascertained and described my said invention and in what man ner it is performed what I claim is:

1. In a drier, the combination of a recepthe topmost shelf; means individual to each shelf for successively rocking the component plates thereof about their axes so as to discharge the material onto the next lower shelf, the point at which the plates of each shelf are rocked being located in rear of the point at which the plates of the next higher shelf are rocked; and means for supplying drying air through the inner section directly into the spaces between the pairs of adjacent shelves.

2. In a drier, the combination of a receptacle comprising outer and inner concentric vertical sections; a series of'horizontal drying shelves arranged in superposed relation in the outer section, each shelf being constructed of sector-shaped radially-disposed plates rotatably mounted at their opposite ends in the walls of said sections and having their outer ends projecting through the outer wall and provided with rock arms; springs associated with the component plates of each shelf for normally holding them in horizontal position; means for delivering the material to be dried upon the topmost shelf; and a set of devices, one individual to each shelf, for operatively engaging the rock arms on the successive plates of the shelvesto rock said plates about their axes so as to discharge the material onto the next lower shelf, each device being located in rear of the one which operates the plates of the next higher shelf; and means for supplying drying air through the inner section directly into the spaces between the pairs of adjacent 110 shelves.

3. In a drier, the combination of a rotary receptacle comprising outer and inner concentric vertical sections, the outer section having at its top an inlet for the material to 115 be dried and at its bottom an outlet for the dried material; a pair of valves of cruciform section disposed one at the inlet and the other at the outlet for controlling the passage of the material therethrough; means 120 operated by the rotation of the receptacle for rotating said valves; a series of horizontal drying shelves arranged in superposed relation in the outer section, each shelf being constructed of sector-shaped radially dis- 125 posed plates rotatably mounted at their opposite ends in the walls of said sections and having springs associated with them for normally holding them in horizontal position; means for delivering the material to 1 be dried upon the topmost shelf; means individual to each shelf for successively rocking the component plates thereof about their axes so as to discharge the material onto the next lower shelf, the point at which the plates of each shelf are rocked being located in rear of the point at which the plates of the next higher shelf are rocked; andmeans for supplying drying air through the inner WATZE SPOELSTRA. 

